Ansel’s POV
The anger hadn’t left me since we stepped out of the council chambers. It clawed at my insides, twisting, an uncontrollable storm just beneath my skin.
They thought they could dictate my path. That they could force me into a corner, strip me of my own control.
Bastards.
I stormed into my chamber, slamming the door behind me. The fire in the hearth barely warmed the room, and I felt the cold in my bones, in my mind.
They wanted Luna? Fine.
They wanted a claim?
They wanted an heir? My jaw clenched so hard it ached.
I had spent years fighting, carving my own place in this kingdom. I had shed blood for it. I had earned it. And now, because of their impatience, they dared to push me, to put me in a position where I had to fight for something that should have already been min
